Rude, Crude Pols Laughing All the Way to the Bank

Mistaking being rude for being tough

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After declaring on the House floor that GOP health plan is that sick Americans "die quickly," Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) is the latest politician to be rewarded for boorish behavior: His campaign contributions increased since the incident. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) is the newest media darling -- while being one more bad example that parents might want to keep away from their kids.

Grayson became a You Tube sensation last week ago when he declared that the Republicans' health care plan was about hoping that people who got sick would, "die quickly." The GOP kvetched about the need for Democrats to reprimand Grayson -- much like the House rebuked Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) after the "You lie" incident. Forget that!

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Grayson's aggressive behavior is instead being rewarded at the place where it counts the most right now -- the bank account:

"The campaign has over half a million dollars in the bank and over 5,000 first-time contributors in the past three days," Grayson told CNN Saturday, saying he has his floor speech to thank for the influx of cash.

According to Grayson press secretary Todd Jurkowski, who received the latest fundraising totals from senior campaign adviser Julie Tagen, of the over half-million dollars in the bank, more than $150,000 has come in since Grayson's pitch to Congress Tuesday night.

Unfortunately, the instant-response aspect of the Internet allows for the immediate rewarding of bad or intemperate behavior. Not only has Grayson profited from this outburst, both the aforementioned Wilson and his Democratic opponent have raked in millions in contributions because one member broke the protocol of decades and called the president a liar on the House floor.

Rick Larsen (D-WA) may have had a point last week when, while participating in the Funniest Celebrity in Washington contest, he joked that one of his Democratic colleagues voted against rebuking Wilson because he "wanted to reserve the right to call a future Republican president a dumb s---."

The saddest part of the Grayson affair is the "lesson" that he has taken away from it. Forget about the lesson that being rude or intemperate to one's colleague's is financially worthwhile. There's also this: "People want to see a congressman with guts...America likes to hear the truth."

People can decide for themselves whether the fact that Republicans have different plans means that they have no plan. However, when did intemperate, rude language suddenly equal "guts"? Really? This is what we've come to?

Having a loud mouth and being able to mischaracterize one's political foes is now an example of toughness? Any chance that some integrity can go along with that? Fat chance.